A

Amaunet
Means "Hidden One." She was an Egyptian mother and/or fertility goddess. At the beginning of time aspects of Amaunet merged with those of the goddess Neith. Among the Ogdoad, Amun was her consort. She was regarded as a tutelary deity of the Egyptian Pharaohs, and had a prominent part in the Pharaoh's accession ceremonies.

Ammut (Ammit)
"Devouress of the Dead." Demonic goddess who attends the Judging of the Dead. She was depicted as having the head of a crocodile, the torso of a lioness and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus. She waited in the Judgement Hall of the Two Truths during the Weighing of the Heart ceremony, and devoured those who were sinners in life.

Anat
A goddess of Syrian origin. Anat had a warlike character. She usually was represented as a woman holding a shield and an axe.

Anentet ( Amenthes )
Egyptian goddess of the West. The west was considered to be the Underworld.

Anuket ( Anqet, Anquet, Greek Anukis )
Egyptian goddess who personified the Nile as Nourisher of the Fields. She was mainly associated with the lower cataracts near Aswan. Also was a protective deity of childbirth. She was considered to be the daughter of Ra, Satis or Khnum. Depicted in human form, bearing a crown topped with ostrich feathers. Her principal sanctuary was at Elephantine. Her sacred animal was the gazelle.

Astarte (As-start-a)
A goddess of Syrian origin. Introduced in Egypt during the 18th Dynasty. Was also known as The Queen of Heaven and as such, her cult often overlapped with Isis' worshipers.

Ausaas
Egyptian wife of Herakhty (Horus).
 

B
Bastet ( Bast, Ubasti )
Egyptian sun, cat and of the home goddess. As a sun goddess she represents the warm, life giving power of the sun. A goddess of the home, pregnant women and of the domestic cat, although she sometimes took on the war-like aspect of a lioness. Normally said to be the daughter of the sun god Ra, but sometimes her father was said to be Amun. Bastet was wife of Ptah and mother of the lion-god Mihos. She was also associated with 'Eye of Ra', as such she was a instrument of the sun god's vengeance. She was depicted as a cat or in human form with the head of a cat, often holding the sistrum. Her cult was centered on her sanctuary at Bubastis in the Delta region. A necropolis has been found there, containing mummified cats.

Bat (Bata)
Cow goddess of fertility and primarily a deity of Upper Egypt. She was depicted as a cow or in human form with cow's ears and horns.

Beset
Egyptian goddess, a female version of Bes.

Buto ( Edjo, Udjo, Wadjet, Wadjit )
A tutelary goddess of Lower Egypt.
 

C
Chensit
Egyptian goddess of the twentieth nome of Lower Egypt.

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F

G

H
Hathor (Hethert, Athyr)
Cow goddess. A goddess of love and motherhood, Hathor was the daughter of Nut and Ra. In early Egyptian mythology she was said to be the mother Horus, but was later replaced with Isis. After being displaced, Hathor became a protectress of Horus. The Greeks identified Hathor with Aphrodite.

Her name means "House (or Mansion) of Horus," referring to her role as a sky goddess. The heavens were often depicted as being a cow with stars on it, thus the "house." She was often regarded as the mother of the Pharaoh, who called himself the "son of Hathor." Since the Pharaoh was also considered to be the Living Horus, as the son of Isis, it is plausible that the phrase "son of Hathor" came from when Hathor was the mother of Hours.

The snake, the Egyptian rattle known as the sistrum, and the papyrus reed often symbolized Hathor. Her image could also be used to form the capitals of columns in Egyptian architecture. Her principal sanctuary was at Dandarah, which may also be where Hathor got her origins. At Dandarah, she was mainly worshipped in her role as a goddess of fertility, women and childbirth. At Thebes she was regarded as a goddess of the dead with the title of "Lady of the West." This associated her with Ra on his descent below the western horizon and various deaths related gods, such as Osiris and Anubis. She was depicted either as a cow or in human form wearing a crown consisting of a sun disk held between the horns of a cow.

Hat-mehyt (Hatmehit)
Fish goddess of Mendes in the Delta and the consort of Banebdjedet. She was occasionally represented as a woman with a fish on her head.

Hauhet
Goddess of infinity and a member of the Ogdoad. Her consort was Heh

Hedetet
A scorpion goddess.

Heket (Heqet)
A goddess of childbirth and protector of the dead. She is the daughter of Ra and is sometimes called the 'Eye of Ra' and 'Mother of the gods'. She is shown as a frog, a symbol of life and fertility (millions of them are born after the annual inundation of the Nile), or as a woman with a frog's head. Women often wore amulets of her during childbirth. She is regarded as the consort of Khnum.

Hemsut (Hemuset)
The Egyptian goddess of fate.

Heqet
A frog-goddess of Antinoopolis. She was a helper of women during childbirth. At Antinoopolis she was associated with Khnum.

Hermouthis
See the goddess Renenutet

Hesat
An Egyptian cow goddess. The ancient Egyptians referred to milk as 'the beer of Hesat.'
 

I
Isdes
She was a goddess of Heliopolis whose name means, "she comes who is great." She was a counterpart to the creator god Atum. Normally depicted wearing a scarab beetle on her head.

Isis (Aset, Eset, Aat, Menkhet, Hert, Ament, Menhet)
"Throne." Egyptian mother goddess. Isis has many names: "Mistress of Magic,The Queen of Heaven (similar to Astarte), The Great Lady, the God-Mother, lady of Re-a-nefer; Isis-Nebuut, Lady of Sekhet; Lady of Besitet; Isis in Per Pakht, the Queen of Mesen; Isis of Ta-at-nehepet; Isis, dweller in Netru; Isis, Lady of Hebet; Isis in P-she-Hert; Isis, Lady of Khebt; Usert-Isis, Giver of Life, Lady of Abaton, Lady of Philae and Lady of the Countries of the South."

Isis ruled over all matters concerning mothering, life, and sorcery. She was the daughter of Geb and Nut, according to the Heliopolitan genealogy, sister-wife of Osiris and, according to most myths, the mother of Horus. As the personification of the throne, Isis was an important source of the Pharaoh's power. Isis' Latin epithet was Stella Maris, which means, "star of the sea." Isis was depicted in human form, crowned either by a throne or by cow horns enclosing a sun disk, occasionally a vulture was incorporated in her crown. She is also depicted as a kite above the mummified body of Osiris. She was divinely represented by the Ankh. Isis' cult was popular throughout Egypt, however, the most important sanctuaries were at Giza and at Behbeit El-Hagar. During the Late Period, Philae was her main cult-center. Later on, she had an important cult in the Greco-Roman world, with sanctuaries at Delos and Pompeii.

Isis is one of the four great protector goddesses, which included Bast, Nephyths, and Hathor. She guarded coffins and the Canopic jars. In the origin myth of Ra and the world, Isis found out Ra's name by enchanting a poisonous snake to bite him. When Ra was close to dying, Isis told him that she could only heal him if she knew Ra's true name. By knowing Ra's name, she then had power equal to him and was then given all of her magical power and was forever known as the Divine Sorceress.

Isis and Nephyths were the divine mourners for the dead (Osiris). Isis was the one who retrieved and reassembled the body of Osiris after his murder and dismemberment by Set. In this way she took on the role of a goddess of the dead and funeral rites. Isis impregnated herself from the corpse and gave birth to Horus. She gave birth in secrecy at Khemmis in the Nile delta and hid the child from Set in the papyrus swamps. Horus later defeated Set and became the first ruler of a united Egypt. Isis, as mother of Horus, was by extension regarded as the mother and protectress of the Pharaohs. This relationship between Isis and Horus may also have influenced the Christian conception of the relationship between Mary and the infant Jesus Christ. There is a resemblance to the depiction of the seated Isis holding or suckling the child Horus and the seated Mary and the baby Jesus.
 

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K
Kauket
Goddess of darkness and a member of the Ogdoad. Her consort was Kek.

Kebechet
Goddess who personified the purification through water. Daughter of Anubis, Kebechet plays an important role in the funeral cult. Her appearance is that of a snake.
 

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M
Ma'at (Maat, Mayet)
"Straight": law and order. Egyptian goddess of cosmic harmony, truth and justice. Ma'at was depicted as a woman with an ostrich feather on her head, she was sometimes represented only by the feather. Ma'at was closely associated with Ra from the beginning and eventually became known as the 'daughter of Ra.' Thoth was sometimes given as her consort. The Pharaohs were said to derive their authority from Ma'at and claimed to uphold the cosmic order embodied in her. In the funerary papyri of the New Kingdom it was Ma'at who sat in judgement at the weighting of the heart ceremony in the Hall of the Two Truths. The heart of the deceased was weighed against the image of Ma'at, often represented simply by the ostrich feather. Her only know sanctuary was in Karnak.

Mafdet
The first deity to be mentioned who is half-cat (domesticate). She appears to be associated with the protection of the king's chambers. OR Panther Goddess Her ferocity prevails over snakes and scorpions.

Mekhit (Mechit)
A lion goddess and consort of Anhur

Meret (Mert)
The Egyptian goddess of song and rejoicing.

Meretseger (Mertseger,Meresger)
"She who loves silence." Egyptian cobra goddess and protective deity of the Theban necropolis. She was believed to live on a mountain overlooking the Valley of the Kings. Worshiped by the workers at the necropolis, she was believed to poison or blind anyone who committed a crime. Supposedly, this belief was intended to reinforce the taboo against desecrating or robbing the tombs. She was depicted as a coiled cobra or as a cobra with the head of a woman and a single human arm. Her cult died out when the Theban necropolis was abandoned during the XXI Dynasty.

Mut
Egyptian vulture goddess and chief goddess of Thebes. Also a mother goddess occasionally referenced to as the queen of all gods. She was depicted in the form of a vulture or in a human form with a vulture headdress and the combined crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt. She was usually dressed in a bright red or blue gown. In Thebes she replaced Amaunet as the consort of the sun god Amun. With their adoptive son Khonsu, the two formed the Theban triad. Her principal sanctuary was in Thebes.
 

N
Naunet
Goddess of the primordial abyss and member of the Ogdoad. Her consort was Nun.

Nebethetepet
A goddess whose name means "mistress of the offering." She is a feminine counterpart of the male creative principle of Atum. She supposedly was "namely his Hand with which he brought about the ejaculation that brought the cosmos into being." A goddess of Heliopolis.

Neith (Neit)
Egyptian creator goddess and of war, the hunt and domestic arts. Her symbol was a shield bearing crossed arrows. Said to be a self-begotten virgin. She later came to be identified as the consort of Set and the mother of the crocodile god Sobek. Her principal sanctuary was at Sais in the Nile Delta, where she originally developed as a local goddess. After rising to national prominence, a sanctuary was dedicated to her in Memphis. In the Esna cosmology, Neith was said to have emerged from the primeval waters to create the world, subsequently following the Nile north to the delta where she founded Sais. Depicted in the form of a woman wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt and bearing a shield with crossed arrows.

Nekhbet (Nekhebet, Nechbet)
"She of Nekhbet." Egyptian vulture and tutelary goddess of Upper Egypt. She was also a protective goddess of childbirth who was depicted as the nurse of the future monarch during his infancy. In her capacity as protectress of the infant monarch she was known as the "Great White Cow of Nekheb." She was usually depicted as a vulture wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt and holding the eternity symbols in her talons. Her principal sanctuary was in Nekheb (El Kab) in Upper Egypt.

Nephthys (Greek form; Egyptian Neb-hut, Nebthet)
"Mistress/Lady of the House." Egyptian goddess of the dead and daughter of Geb and Nut. Nephthys was the sister of Isis, Osiris and Set. She was the consort of Set until Set killed Osiris. According to one tradition, she was also the mother of Anubis by Osiris. Nephthys' principal sanctuary was in Heliopolis. Along with Isis, she was one of the guardians of the corpse of Osiris. She is shown in human form wearing a crown in the form of the hieroglyph for house. Sometimes depicted as a kite guarding the funeral bier of Osiris.

Nepit
An Egyptian corn goddess. She is the female counterpart of the god Neper.

Nut (Neuth, Nuit)
Egyptian goddess of the sky and the heavens. Daughter of Shu and Tefnut, in the Heliopolitan genealogy. Originally just a mother goddess who had numerous children. The hieroglyph of her name is thought to be a womb although a water pot represented the womb. She was typically depicted as a woman with her elongated and naked body arching above Shu and the earth god Geb to form the heavens. Sometimes she appeared in the form of a cow whose body forms the sky and heavens. Nut was the barrier separating the forces of Chaos form the ordered cosmos in this world. Her fingers and toes were believed to touch the four cardinal points or directions. The sun god Ra was to be reborn from her vagina each morning. Nut was also a goddess of the dead, and the Pharaoh was said to enter her body after death, from which he would later be resurrected. Her principal sanctuary was in Heliopolis.
 

O

P
Pachet (Pakhet)
Lioness Goddess of the Eastern Desert and a night huntress.
 

Q
Qadesh (Qetesh)
A goddess of Syrian origin. Often represented as a woman standing on a lion's back.
 

R
Renenutet (Ernutet, Renenet)
Egyptian cobra goddess. Depicted either as a hooded cobra or in human form with the head of a cobra. Her name seems to have the meaning of nurturing or raisin a child, and she was both a goddess associated with motherhood and the tutelary deity of the Pharaoh. Her gaze was said to have the power to vanquish all enemies and also to ensure the fertility of the crops and the bounty of the harvest. She was associated with the magical properties believed to inhere in the linen bandages that wrapped the dead and was known at Edfu as the 'mistress of the robes.' She had an important cult center in the fertile Faiyum region, where she was closely associated with the local crocodile god Sobek. In the Greco-Roman period she was worshipped as the goddess Hermouthis, in which form she came to be combined with Isis.

Renpet
The Egyptian goddess of youth and springtime.

Reret
An Egyptian hippopotamus goddess.
 

S
Satet
Goddess of the inundation of the Nile and fertility

Satis (Greek form, also Sati; Egyptian Satjit or Satet)
An Egyptian goddess whose primary role was that of a guardian of Egypt's southern (Nubian) frontier and killing the enemies of the Pharaoh with her arrows. As 'Queen of Elephantine' she figures as the consort of Khnum and the mother of Anuket, the three sometimes being referred to as the 'Elephantine's triad.' Depicted in human form wearing the tall conical white crown of Upper Egypt bounded on either side by plumes or antelope horns, holding a scepter and the Ankh (life) symbol. She had a major sanctuary on the island of Sahel near Elephantine (Aswan). She was also associated with the annual inundation of the Nile.

Sekhmet (Sachmet, Sakhmet)
"The Powerful One." Egyptian lioness goddess, daughter of Ra. In Memphis she formed part of the Memphite triad together with Ptah as her consort and Nefertum (otherwise the son of Bastet) as her son. Depicted as a lioness or in a human form with the head of a lioness. She was generally shown crowned by the solar disk, holding the Ankh (life) symbol or a scepter in the shape of a papyrus reed. In Thebes Sekhmet came to be combined with Mut, the consort of the Theban sun god Amun. She had a warlike aspect and was said to breathe fire at the enemies of the Pharaoh. Like the goddess Hathor, Sekhmet could become the 'eye of Ra,' an agent of the sun god's punishment. She was believed to be the bearer of plague and pestilence, but in a more benign aspect she was called upon in spells and amulets to ward of disease.

Selkis (Selkit, Selket, Selkhet, Serqet)
A scorpion-goddess who was identified with the scorching heat of the sun. A protector goddesses, she guarded coffins and Canopic jars. Sometimes shown as a woman with a scorpion on her head.

Sentait
A cow goddess.

Serket (Selket, Selkis, Selchis, Selquet; Egyptian Serket-hetyt)
"She who causes the throat to breathe." Egyptian scorpion goddess. Depicted in human form with a scorpion-shaped headdress or with a scorpion body and a human head. She was an early tutelary deity of the Egyptian monarchs. Serket was associated with mortuary rites and helped guard the Canopic jars in which the viscera of the dead were placed. From this association she came to be a tutelary goddess of the dead. She was called upon in Egyptian magic to advert venomous bites and stings.

Seshat (Sesat, Sesheta)
The goddess of writing; the divine keeper of royal annals. Was represented as a woman.

Shait
An Egyptian goddess of destiny.

Sothis (Greek form; Egyptian Sopdet)
Egyptian goddess who personified the Dog Star, Sirius. The appearance of Sirius at dawn in July (called the helical rising) heralds the annual inundation of the Nile. She naturally became associated with fertility and prosperity resulting from the annual floods. Depicted in human form, wearing the tall conical white crown of Upper Egypt, surmounted by a star. In a forth century BC papyrus, Isis identifies herself with Sothis as she laments the death of Osiris and vows to follow him in his manifestation as the constellation Orion.
 

T
Tasenetnofret
An ancient Egyptian goddess. She was the consort of Horus when he was Har-wer ("Horus the Elder").

Tawret (Taueret, Taurt, Apet, Opet; Greek Thoueris, Thoeris, Toeris)
"The Great One." Egyptian hippopotamus goddess and protective deity of childbirth, also protectress of rebirth into the afterlife. She was depicted with the head of a hippopotamus, the legs and arms of a lion, the tail of a crocodile, human breasts, and a swollen belly. This appearance was meant to frighten off any spirits that might be harmful to the child. She was often depicted holding the Sa, amulet symbolizing protection. As a protective deity of childbirth, she was often depicted in the company of the dwarf god Bes, who ad a similar function. Taweret was the most popular among ordinary Egyptians as a protectress. Pregnant women commonly wore amulets bearing the goddess' image.

Tefnut (Tefnet, Tefenet; Greek Tphenis)
Primeval Egyptian goddess personifying moisture, particularly in the forms of dew, rains and mist. According to the Heolopolitan cosmology, she was the daughter of Atum (sun), sister-wife of Shu (air) and the mother of Geb (earth) and Nut (sky). Tefnut could take on the role of the 'eye of Ra' (Ra being another form of her sun god father), in which case she was depicted as a lioness or in human form with the head of a lioness. She could also be depicted as a snake coiled about a scepter. In the Pyramid Texts she was said to create pure water from her vagina. Her principal sanctuary was at Heliopolis. Tefnut and Shu were also worshipped as a pair of lions at Leontopolis in the Nile delta.

Tenenit
The Egyptian goddess of beer.
 

U
Unut
An Egyptian rabbit-goddess.
 

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W
Wadjet (Buto, Uajyt, Uto)
Cobra and tutelary goddess of Lower Egypt.

Wosyet
The Egyptian protector goddess of the young.

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Y

Z
Zenenet
The Egyptian goddess of Hermonthis.
 
 

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Egyptian Gods from A to H

Egyptian Gods from I to Z

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